Introduction

“Materials that think” is a first-year engineering experience in which students create multi-functional materials by embedding polymers with sensing, actuation, and networked computation. All polymers are “off-the-shelf” materials from places like Sparkfun, JoAnn’s or McGuckin’s, focussing the class on engineering design principles that are valid across disciplines. After this class you will have a basic understanding of electronics, programming (via Arduino), design tools (Onshape), manufacturing (laser cutter, 3D printer), as well as the engineering design process.

Schedule

Labs

The class consists of a lecture and two lab sessions per week. The lab sessions consist of hands-on instructions on electronics and manufacturing techniques as well as a series of team projects:

Scavenger Hunt: Track down equipment, materials and other resources available at CU. Each team needs to track down a (overlapping) set of resources, and present their findings to the other teams.

Duration: 1 week

Deliverable: 12min presentation

Material properties worksheet: What is the function of a selected “smart polymer”/sensor/actuator (see below) and what are its main properties? Create a datasheet the rest of the class can use by collecting information from the internet and your own experimentation.

Duration: 2 weeks

Deliverable: datasheet (public Google docs)

Shrinky Dink (2014)

Thermochromic tiles (2014)

Reverse engineering project: How does stuff work? Disassemble, analyze, re-build and promote an object of your choice, preferably something that contains interesting smart polymers or parts that will make your material multi-functional. All videos will be combined into a “crowd-sourced” mini-documentary.

Duration: 2 weeks

Deliverable: 1min video per group

How does a blood pressure monitoring device work?

Final project: Identify an everyday surface or material that can be made multi-functional by combining a smart polymer with sensing, actuation, and computation.

3 Responses to GEEN1400: Materials that think

[…] before.” Correll has seen this first-hand; his first-year engineering students have come up withsome truly inspired creations, from a cell phone case that changes color to a skateboard that can fold up when it’s not in […]

[…] before.” Correll has seen this first-hand; his first-year engineering students have come up withsome truly inspired creations, from a cell phone case that changes color to a skateboard that can fold up when it’s not in […]

[…] before.” Correll has seen this first-hand; his first-year engineering students have come up withsome truly inspired creations, from a cell phone case that changes color to a skateboard that can fold up when it’s not in […]